Monday, August 4, 2014

Research on Antibiotics Reveals Silver Acts as a Booster...

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Research on Antibiotics Reveals Silver Acts as a Booster, WhileMixing Certain Antibiotics with Statins Can Be Devastating

By Dr. Mercola

The frivolous use of antibiotics, not just in medicine but
also in food production, is the root cause of skyrocketing
antibiotic resistance.

Data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and
Control1 (ECDC) shows a significant rise of resistance to multiple
antibiotics in Klebsiella pneumoniae and E. coli in just the last
four years alone, affecting more than one-third of the EU, and the
primary cause for this man-made epidemic is the widespread misuse
of antibiotics.

Between the years of 1993 and 2005, the number of Americans
hospitalized due to the antibiotic-resistant "superbug" MRSA
(methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) skyrocketed from
about 2,000 to 370,000.

Currently, MRSA and other antibiotic-resistant infections kill
about 60,000 Americans annually, and account for billions of
dollars in health care costs. Antibiotic-resistant disease is not
the only danger associated with the misuse of these drugs.
Excessive exposure to antibiotics also takes a heavy toll on your
gastrointestinal health, which can predispose you to virtually any
disease.

Abnormal gut flora may actually be a major contributing factor
to the rise in a wide variety of childhood diseases and ailments,
from bowel disorders and allergies to autism.

Agricultural uses of antibiotics account for about 80 percent
of all antibiotic use in the US, so it's a MAJOR source of human
antibiotic consumption. Animals are often fed antibiotics at low
doses for disease prevention and growth promotion, and those
antibiotics are transferred to you via meat, and even via the
manure used as crop fertilizer.

Protecting your gut health and reducing the spread of
antibiotic-resistant bacteria are significant reasons for making
sure you're only eating grass-fed, organically-raised meats and
animal products.

When used properly, in the correct contexts and with
responsibility, antibiotics can and do save lives that are
threatened by bacterial infections. But there is one important
variable that wasn't considered when the widespread use of these
"miracle medicines" began, and that is that bacteria are highly
adaptable.

They are clearly capable of outsmarting antibiotics, and they
are doing so with a vengeance. According to the CDC's National
Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System:

"Antibiotics kill or inhibit the growth of susceptible
bacteria. Sometimes one of the bacteria survives because it has
the ability to neutralize or evade the effect of the antibiotic;
that one bacteria can then multiply and replace all the bacteria
that were killed off.

Exposure to antibiotics therefore provides selective
pressure, which makes the surviving bacteria more likely to be
resistant. In addition, bacteria that were at one time susceptible
to an antibiotic can acquire resistance through mutation of their
genetic material or by acquiring pieces of DNA that code for the
resistance properties from other bacteria.

The DNA that codes for resistance can be grouped in a
single easily transferable package. This means that bacteria can
become resistant to many antimicrobial agents because of the
transfer of one piece of DNA."

Interestingly, these bacteria have previously unknown allies
that supply them with the antibiotic-resistant genes necessary for
their survival. Researchers at the Wyss Institute have discovered
that gut viruses known as bacteriophages, a.k.a. "phages" are
actually instrumental in conferring antibacterial resistance to
bacteria. Most importantly:

"[Phage] deliver genes that help the bacteria to survive
not just the antibiotic they've been exposed to, but other types
of antibiotics as well...

That suggests that phages in the gut may be partly
responsible for the emergence of dangerous superbugs that
withstand multiple antibiotics, and that drug targeting of phages
could offer a potential new path to mitigate development of
antibiotic resistance," the Institute's press release states.
Phages Are Actually an Important Part of Your Body's Defense
System

More than 90 percent of the DNA in your body is not yours, but
actually belongs to a wide variety of microbes, and these findings
just go to show how intricately tied your health is to the
microorganisms that live inside you. And, while the word "virus"
brings to mind all things "bad" for you, this is not necessarily
true.

Another recent study published in the Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences found that many of these viruses
(phages) actually serve as immune helpers not enemies and form an
important part of your body's defense system.

Wherever bacteria reside, you will also find phages, because
phages depend on bacteria for their survival. Phages specialize in
breaking open and killing certain kinds of bacteria, hijacking
them in order to replicate.

Most phages have hollow heads, which store their DNA and RNA,
and tunnel tails designed for binding to the surface of their
bacterial targets. According to phages.org, once a phage has
attached itself to a bacterium:

"The viral DNA is then injected through the tail into the
host cell, where it directs the production of progeny phages,
often over a hundred in half an hour. These 'young' phages burst
from the host cell (killing it) and infect more bacteria."

The researchers found evidence that these phages partner with
animals and humans to stave off bacterial infections and control
the composition of friendly microbes in your body. The researchers
speculate that some phages might protect bacteria that benefit
their hosts (i.e. you), while destroying those that cause harm.

Which brings us back to the featured research, which suggests
that these phages may also play a significant role in the rapid
rise of antibiotic resistance... In essence, it would appear our
zealous overuse of antibiotic drugs is causing these helpful
viruses to boost the survivability of bacteria during the
onslaught of a deadly foe the antibiotic only in this case, the
end result is disastrous rather than helpful for the host... On
the upside, these findings may confer new hope for effective
treatments. According to Don Ingber, M.D., Ph.D., Founding

Director of the Wyss Institute:

"Antibiotic resistance is as pressing a global health
problem as they come, and to fight it, it's critical to understand
it. [These] novel findings offer a previously unknown way to
approach this problem -- by targeting the phage that live in our
intestine, rather than the pathogens themselves."

Colloidal Silver Dramatically Boosts Effectiveness of Antibiotics

The use of silver in the battle against pathogenic bacteria
goes way back into antiquity. Hippocrates was one of the first to
describe its antimicrobial properties in 400 B.C. Over the past
few years, several studies have demonstrated the fact that silver
is indeed one of the most effective agents in the battle against
antibiotic-resistant super pathogens. Yet conventional medicine
has largely dismissed such claims, relegating colloidal silver to
the "woo-woo" section of medical myth.

They may be inclined to change their tune however, in light of
the latest research, which shows that low doses of silver can make
antibiotics up to 1,000 times more effective, and may even allow
an antibiotic to successfully combat otherwise antibiotic-
resistant bacteria. As reported by Medical News Today:

Not only did silver boost the ability of a broad range of
commonly used antibiotics so as to stop mice dying of otherwise
lethal infections, but it made at least one resistant bacterium
succumb to antibiotics again. The addition of silver also
broadened the effect of vancomycin, an antibiotic that is usually
only effective at killing Gram-positive bacteria like Staph and
Strep; aided by silver it killed Gram-negative bacteria such as
those that cause food poisoning and dangerous hospital-acquired
infections."

For example, by adding a small amount of silver to the
antibiotic, a powerful synergism occurred, and a urinary tract
infection caused by tetracycline-resistant E. coli was
successfully eradicated. Silver also helped save the lives of 90
percent of mice suffering with a life-threatening abdominal
inflammation by adding it to the antibiotic vanomycin. In the
group receiving vanomycin only, a mere 10 percent survived. The
researchers discovered two mechanisms that help explain how silver
can boost the effectiveness of an antibiotic:

Silver interferes with the bacteria's metabolism,
increasing production of reactive oxygen species (ROS); products
of normal oxygen consuming metabolic processes in your body that,
in excess, can damage cell membranes and DNA. Many antibiotics are
believed to kill bacteria by producing ROS compounds, and here,
the researchers found that adding a small amount of silver boosted
the antibiotic's ability to kill anywhere from 10 and 1,000 times
more bacteria

Silver makes the bacteria's cell membrane more permeable.
This may explain the beneficial effect of silver on gram-negative
bacteria, the cells of which are often impenetrable to antibiotics
due to the molecular size of the drugs

What About Potential Toxicity of Colloidal Silver?

As for toxicity, the researchers found that the doses of
silver required were far smaller than the dose needed to harm
either mice or cultured human cells, suggesting that oral and
injectable silver should be quite safe. That said, quality is
extremely important, as misrepresentation of colloidal silver by
less scrupulous manufacturers has in the past led to some of its
more negative connotations. According to a Commercial Product
Report by silver-colloids.com, a site that provides detailed
laboratory analyses of colloidal silver products, there are three
distinctly different types of silver products on the market that
are all labeled and sold as "colloidal" silver:

True colloidal silver Ionic silver

Silver protein: Due to the high concentration of large
silver particles, silver protein products are known to cause
argyria, which turns your skin blue-gray color.

When purchasing colloidal silver, it's very important to avoid
silver protein formulas. True colloidal silver seems to be the
most recommended, but ionic silver could probably also be used. In
the featured study, they used ionic silver (Ag) in a silver
nitrate salt (AgNO3), which, again, was found to be quite non-
toxic in animals and human cell cultures. Substantial
antimicrobial activity was found at 30 microns (µM) against E.
coli. If you take ionic silver products according to the
manufacturer's recommended dosage, ionic silver will not cause
argyria. That said, since there are potential health risks
involved if you select the wrong formula, I recommend you use
colloidal silver only under the guidance and supervision of a
qualified alternative health practitioner who can help you select
a high-quality product.

In related news, Canadian researchers warn that patients
especially the elderly taking cholesterol-lowering drugs such as
Lipitor, should avoid the antibiotics clarithromycin and
erythromycin, as these antibiotics inhibit the metabolism of
statins. Increased drug concentrations in your body may cause
muscle or kidney damage, and even death.

As reported by WebMD:

"'These drugs do interact and cause difficulties for
patients,' said lead researcher Dr. Amit Garg, a professor in the
department of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of
Western Ontario in London, Ontario. These adverse reactions are
rare, Garg added. 'Most people will be fine,' he said. 'But at a
population level, hundreds of preventable hospitalizations are
occurring.' For someone taking a statin, the study suggests that
substituting a different antibiotic -- azithromycin -- is safer
because it doesn't interfere with the metabolism of statins.

Another strategy is to stop the statin until the antibiotic course
is finished, Garg said."

What You Can Do to Help Stop the Spread of Antibiotic-ResistantDisease

You can help yourself and your community by using antibiotics
only when absolutely necessary and by purchasing organic,
antibiotic-free meats and other foods. Even though the problem of
antibiotic resistance needs to be stemmed through public policy on
a nationwide level, the more people who get involved on a personal
level to stop unnecessary antibiotic use the better.

Remember, not every bacterial infection needs to be treated
with a drug. First, as an all-around preventive measure, you'll
want to make sure your vitamin D level is optimized year-round,
especially during pregnancy, along with vitamin K2. But there are
also a number of natural compounds that can help boost your immune
system function to help rid you of an infection, including:

Last but not least, the use of silver compounds appears to
bring new hope against antibiotic-resistant pathogens. Still,
creating more potent antibiotics, regardless of how that's
achieved, will not help us in the long run unless we also address
the root causes of antibiotic resistance, which is rampant overuse
in medicine, but perhaps even more importantly, in agriculture.

About Me

Hi Folks, My name is Larry Nelson. I'm 67 years old, I live in central
Texas and I'm enjoying my retirement.
In May of 2007 I was diagnosed with cancer in my prostate. I wasn't
real surprised because my mother died from the 3rd battle with cancer.
I was told that, on a scale of 1 to 9, I was rated 7. They said that I
had a very short time to live unless I have my prostate removed and
follow up with Kemo-Therapy.
I tried to explain to the uroligist that I had been studying cancer
treatment on the internet and that I had decidedto go the alterative
route. I had to repeat myself 3 times to get the doctor to acknowledge
my comment. He told me that it wouldn't work.
It is now February of 2012, I don't have cancer problems that I know of.
I have lost friends to the medical treatment of cancer and I had decided
that I wasn't going to go through the HELL that they did before they died.
What I want to accomplish with this blog is...I want to let as many people
know as I can that there is a much better way to deal with cancer. There
is many people like me that have beat cancer with the alternative approach
to beating cancer.